- Location
- USA
I think Saphroneth or RHJunior could. Maybe even Unwelcome Storm. There's another I can think of, but he's banned on SV.
Ship of Fools: A Taylor Varga Omake (Complete)
- Thread starter Derek M
- Start date
- Crossover
- Location
- Usa
Actually, I think it might be Pryor. I remember the line as shit and stuff (alliteration! yay!). But Sturgeon's Law is one of the few that might actually be immune to the typical self-reflection problems. (I.e. 99% of everything is shit, including my stuff.)
- Location
- Usa
Unfortunately, the philosophical/principled answer is the General one. I.e. Don't. Extend to fanfic authors the same courtesy/rights you do to full commercially published authors.
Troy Guffey
Irresponsible Parasite
- Location
- Western Missouri, USA
You just contradicted yourself.
"extending same rights" means DO write fanfiction!
Last edited:
- Location
- Usa
Nope. Take a look at the "Specifics", and keep in mind that the original question deals not with writing a fan-fanfic-fic, but a direct continuation.
Also, fanfiction is very much in a grey "We don't care" section of IP law; for most cases, aggressive lawyering would cost more in bad PR for the "defending" firms than would be worth it. Those Patreon-based fanfic-writers (I'm sure you know of a few) are *really* shaving that line thinner. In most cases, they're being saved by the fact that they're NOT commercially successful (as in, they make beer, not rent, money), and that their fics are most obviously not intended as replacements or follow ons (and thus not competitors).
Keep in mind, too, that *many* professional authors have prohibited fanfics (ranging from "please don't" to "my lawyers will tell you, please don't"), while others have explicitly allowed them, with most in the "don't make us care" middle.
Troy Guffey
Irresponsible Parasite
- Location
- Western Missouri, USA
A lot of fanfictions ARE direct continuations. Like, pick up 30 seconds after the movie ended.
Or things that happen off-screen during episodes.
As for dickish authors who don't like fanfic, there's BIG differences between what's legal, what's tasteful, and what can be enforced.
Personally I only care about enforceable. With minor nods to tasteful.
- Location
- Austin, Texas
See, I fall in the middle of that, since I don't have the talent to make a passable attempt at continuation anyway, I'd never have to worry about either enforcable or legal. I was looking for a reasoned opinion of what's "in good taste" in the case of a passed author.
I really wish becuzitswrong had left any sort of idea on whether he were ok with a continuation...in the event of his passing. But like many of us, I imagine he was never thinking "I'll drop dead tomorrow while mowing the grass". PRETTY sure, from interacting with him at various times (for instance, we actually had a long conversation years ago about various books we'd each/individually read...and what we liked about each) that he would have been all for having his work continue beyond his passing. We'll just never know for sure.
I would even push for a movement among the "prolific" authors to make that choice explicitly clear, perhaps in their Author Profile. The problem is, like mentioned above...nobody likes pondering the possibility of the un-thinkable.
I was looking more for a reasoned (or at least widely agreed upon) opinion of what were "in good taste".
But, I guess, like herding cats...getting a widely agreed upon opinion on anything in the fanfic community can be...
...difficult.
EDIT:
I'm done hijacking this thread...with apologies to OP and others not interested.
Last edited:
- Location
- Sufficient Velocity, at the moment
Have you considered that such a remark would be easier to sell for abandoned stories than author death? That or fan continuations/sidestories for completed works. A more general permission/non-permission to play in their sandbox.
- Location
- Austin, Texas
I've been reading fanfic for a long time (only recently have I come to SB and SV)...and this is definitely an "oddity" of the Worm community that I haven't seen elsewhere in other Fandoms...the prevalence of non-author "Omakes" & playing in each others' sandbox, so to speak.
Except for stories that are explicitly started with the intention of being "round robin", I've rarely seen the level of audience-participation I've seen with some of the Fics in the Worm-verse (and on SV in general)
Last edited:
- Location
- Dallas, TX
Most fanfiction involves using an author's intellectual property without permission, I hardly see this as a compelling argument. While there are some writers who explicitly give permission to write fanfiction in their universes, it's rare. More common is writers who simply adopt a "don't ask don't tell" approach to fan works.
Then there is a smaller group of writers who seem to believe that allowing fanfiction to be written without threatening legal action somehow puts their copyrights at risk. This latter attitude is without any real legal foundation (confusing copyright law with trademark law) and is largely based on the self-reported experience of Marion Zimmer Bradley regarding a fanfiction work set in her Darkover universe. Revelations after her death, unrelated to fanfiction, have shown Bradley to have been an evil, self-serving, and untrustworthy person, so I'm amazed that her "bad experience" with allowing fan fiction is still taken seriously by anyone.
Finally, there's an even smaller group of wrirers who just don't want anyone writing fanfiction about their characters and their worlds because they are theirs! Which is a hard position to argue with.
I feel that fan fiction creators who complain--that others have used ideas they have introduced, original characters they have created, or even have written stories in the fan fiction writer's particular version of a fictional universe--are being somewhat hypocritical.
Check out the numerous "Teraverse" stories (based on the original stories by Diane Castle) on Twisting the Hellmouth for another example of the above--turned up to eleven. The Teraverse page on All the Tropes has a fairly complete and up-to-date listing.
(Note: I have written four very short stories set in the greater Teraverse.)
Last edited:
Chapter 28: Healing and Enhancing
- Location
- Maryland
Chapter 28: Healing and Enhancing
"Knock knock," said Peter as he stuck his head through the doorway.
Ianthe looked up from the PHO page she was reading. "Peter! What can I do for you?"
Peter walked in with his wife, holding her hand. "We decided we would stop in and see about trying that symbiote you were talking about? Oh, this is my wife, MJ. MJ, this is Ianthe, Saurial's cousin."
MJ walked over and shook the large lizard's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, especially given how you helped out Peter and his friends."
Ianthe gave her a closed-mouth smile. "It's our pleasure. Working with your husband and his crew have been fascinating, to say the least. So, are you just here for the symbiote, or is there anything else I can do for you?"
MJ and Peter looked at each other. "What else can you do?" asked MJ.
"Oh, quite a lot," said the purple lizard. "Humans are fairly easy to modify. I can give you better senses, enhanced strength and reflexes -- even mimic some of the flashier superpowers, although some are more difficult than others. It's also harder if you want to maintain your current appearance."
"Could you give Peter actual, biological web shooters?" asked MJ with a smirk.
"I could, but he would probably have to consume a lot of calories to replace any web he used," answered Ianthe. "The mass has to come from somewhere on a daily basis. He also would have to decide if he wanted them in his wrists or in a more anatomically correct location."
MJ seemed surprised at the answer, but Peter swallowed nervously and said, "I think I'll just stick with the baseline symbiote. That just heals, right?"
Ianthe nodded. "It heals pretty much anything. As long as you avoid getting your head vaporized, you'll come back from pretty much any injury. If it can't heal you immediately, it will put you into a trance-like state until it can."
"Well," mused Peter, "I usually try to avoid getting my head vaporized anyway, so I think I can live with that. What do you need us to do?"
"Just wait here for a moment." Ianthe went through a door into another room, and came back containing two small cases. Inside each was a slightly pinkish, lozenge-shaped symbiote resting in a clear liquid. "Here, each of you take one of these and put it on any exposed skin, then press down on it until it squeaks."
"Like the one-shots?" asked Peter.
Ianthe just nodded. Peter took one of the cases and did as instructed. MJ watched and then repeated the process, putting the symbiote on her bare forearm below her sleeve.
"Now what?" asked Peter.
Ianthe smiled. "That's it. Here, you can try it out. Just give yourself a small cut somewhere." She handed him a small knife that she seemed to spontaneously generate from somewhere.
Peter examined the strange, chitinous material. He looked at MJ and shrugged. Then he placed the blade against his hand and pressed. He meant to make only a small cut, but the sharpness of the knife surprised him and he made a deeper, half-inch-long gash.
"Peter!" said MJ worriedly.
Peter dropped the knife and cradled his hand. MJ came to look as well. His mouth dropped open a bit as the wound began to visibly close and stop bleeding. "Huh," he said. "Will you look at that."
"Wow," said MJ, "that was like watching Wolverine."
Ianthe laughed. "If you'd like, I can go get Saurial or Raptaur and we can give you retractable claws made of EDM."
Peter chuckled. "I don't think I have enough body hair to pull that off."
"I can fix that, too," said Ianthe with a daring look.
"No, thank you, Ianthe," said MJ. "I like Peter just the way he is." She paused in thought for a moment, then reached down and picked up the knife. With a quick jab, she managed to put the tip of the knife through her palm. "Ouch. That still hurts quite a lot."
"MJ, what the hell was that?" Peter watched, concerned, as the wound in her palm quickly healed up. "Why would you stab yourself that way?"
MJ took a clean cloth from Ianthe and wiped the blood from her palm, handing the cloth and the knife back to the lizard after. She looked at Peter apologetically. "I'm sorry, Pete, but I wanted to do something a little more...impressive? You have a tendency to worry about me like I'm made of spun glass. I wasn't expecting it to hurt quite so much, though."
"Pain is a useful warning system," explained Ianthe. "Just because you can heal from anything doesn't mean you shouldn't try to remove yourself from painful situations."
Peter frowned. "Let's talk about what other types of enhancements you can do without changing her appearance."
"Really, Peter?" asked MJ with a slight tone of annoyance.
"MJ, while I love your confidence and inner strength, I'll feel a lot better if you can take care of yourself if one of my typical enemies were to come after you. I know you can handle yourself against regular humans, but super-villains are in a whole different category. Please consider the opportunity we have, here." The look he gave her was loving but also worried.
"You know," interrupted Ianthe, "I could just give her a copy of your powers?"
Peter's and MJ's heads both turned to look at her as they simultaneously said, "Really?"
"Absolutely. Your powers are based on physical changes to your genetics and body structure." Ianthe looked at MJ. "I could even set them up so they breed true in any children you would have."
The two humans stared at her, then turned and looked at each other. Both seemed unsure how to respond.
Finally, MJ turned back to Ianthe. "I don't know about our kids inheriting our powers, but tell me more..."
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Danny sat in the galley of the ship, trying to absorb what he had learned in the last day. First, the Endbringer sirens had gone off while he was heading to the hardware store. He had headed to the nearest shelter on autopilot, worrying the whole time about his daughter whom he hadn't seen since their last argument. The sirens had shut off after a fairly short period of time, which had the shelter inhabitants both relieved and curious. Danny had sat still, trying to figure out how to find Taylor, even as people started to filter out of the shelter.
Then, the strange lizard-girl, Saurial, had shown up and said she would bring him to Taylor. He had stepped outside the shelter with her, only to be teleported to a spaceship flying over Brockton Bay. Two men named Harry and Peter had met him and taken him to his daughter...who had powers, and was helping to direct the search and rescue work in Brockton Bay. She had paused to hug him, then gone back to helping coordinate things. He had sat and watched her talk on the radio with a look of concentration on her face. Peter had sat next to him and explained what she was doing...and that he, too, was a cape, but apparently from another dimension?
By the time things were complete and all the lizards were back on board (and there were apparently four giant lizards), Taylor was obviously exhausted. She had briefly apologized for their last argument, admitted she was a cape, admitted she was not just a cape but a villain, and then almost passed out and barely made it to bed. Peter had led him to a bed where he could rest, and he slept for maybe two hours before waking up with a nightmare. Now, he was sitting in the ship's galley, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.
"Hard to take in, isn't it?" said a voice from the doorway.
Danny looked up to see a younger version of himself standing in the door. He must have shown something disturbed in his face, because the man in the door said, "Hey, don't worry. There IS a rational explanation for everything. Here, have a beer." His doppleganger was carrying two bottles, which Danny hadn't noticed at first.
While Danny took one of the beers, opened it, and took a sip, his copy sat down across the table from him. "Here's the thing. I'm you, from another reality...and this is not like an Earth Aleph and Bet thing. I have my own Taylor, who also got powers...but very different powers."
"How did that happen?" he asked, not sure he wanted to know the answer.
His other self explained, "When capes go through a particularly traumatic event, what many of them refer to as, 'the worst day of their life,' they gain the powers they need to help them survive whatever crisis they're in. It's called a trigger event."
Danny looked up at the younger version of himself and asked, "It was the locker, wasn't it? That's when she gained powers?"
"Yeah," was the reply. "I'll be honest with you, you and I screwed up big time. After Annette died, we shut down and left Taylor to deal with things on her own. We left it to the Barnes to support her while she was mourning...and that only made things worse in the long run."
For the first time, Danny answered. "Worse how?"
His duplicate looked at him. "Emma went through a traumatic experience while Taylor was at camp and basically lost her mind. Emma met Shadow Stalker...Sophia Hess...who is a complete psychopath, at the wrong time. She and Emma joined together and made Taylor's life hell, and that culminated in the locker."
Danny's eyes grew hard and he looked at his double. "Are you telling me," he said quietly, "that Taylor's best friend, the girl who was like her sister, and the daughter of one of my oldest friends, and a member of the Wards, somebody who is supposed to be a hero, both tortured her to the point that it was the worst day of her life?" Danny tried to imagine a day worse than the day Taylor found out her mother died.
At his alternate's nod, Danny slammed his hand on the table and began to swear at length. He got up and began to pace back and forth, continuing an impressive tirade. The beer bottle bounced off the far wall, luckily not breaking. After a good five minutes, he sat back down again and put his face in his hands. After another couple of minutes, he asked, "So what do I do?"
"You do what we both should have done long before now. You support her and you be there for her and you listen to her. Your first inclination is going to be to push her into the Wards. I'll tell you right now, she's not going to agree to that and she had some very good reasons. Hess being a Ward is just one of them. There are some...concerns...that we have about the Protectorate and the PRT in your universe that need to be addressed," said his twin.
"We?" he asked, not sure to whom the other Danny was referring.
"The giant lizards are part of a group called the Family. They're closely affiliated with the DWU in my universe, for reasons that will become clear when Saurial and Taylor have a chance to sit down with us and explain some things. From a power standpoint, they could pretty easily take on the entire Triumvirate by themselves. Actually, the reason Leviathan left so quickly after the attack started is because the Endbringers are afraid of them." His doppelganger paused. "I guarantee you that they're not going to let the status quo stay as it is in your Brockton Bay."
"Your version of the DWU has its own cape team?" he asked, bewildered by the concept. "What about the gangs?" He couldn't imagine the ABB, the Empire, or the Merchants accepting a new hero team based in the Docks.
The other Danny actually chuckled. "Remember what I said about power levels? The Family beat Lung and Hookwolf easily, so E88 and the ABB have been lying low. When Skidmark was too stupid to take the hint, the lizards worked with the Protectorate and the PRT and took out the Merchants in a single night, and Coil soon after. Also, the Undersiders and Über and Leet have reformed and are now part of the DWU."
That was alarming. "You're building your own cape gang?"
That prompted a frown. "I know it might seem that way, but it isn't, really. The Family run a company called BBFO that's affiliated with the DWU. They only responded to the E88, Lung and the Merchants when they were attacked. The other minor villains reforming just kind of...happened? I know that sounds strange, but it really wasn't any kind of plot. The Family is now a PRT affiliate, like the Guild."
"Your world seems very different from mine," he said with a sigh.
His alternate self grinned. "It is, in a lot of good ways. The good news is that I expect things will improve relatively quickly in your world now that we're involved. Now come on, Taylor needs to rest, and I want to show you something."
Danny raised a questioning eyebrow.
"How would you like to see the bay without the old tanker blocking the channel?" his twin asked.
For the first time in what seemed like days, Danny gave a small smile. "I think I would like to see that very much."
The two fathers left together to look at what was hopefully a symbol of change for both of their realities.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Lex woke up to an unfamiliar ceiling. He immediately stopped moving and began to listen carefully for the sounds of others. It was shockingly silent. There was no background noise of any kind, and none of the sounds of breathing, subconscious weight shifting or idle movements that would indicate another person was present. He carefully tensed the muscle groups around his body, making sure he had sensation and control over everything. He couldn't feel any pain or disorientation. In fact, he felt quite good...better than he had in some time. The dull throb that was ever-present since he started his experimental cancer treatments was gone. Satisfied that he was uninjured, he turned his head to look around the room, and froze when he saw that he was NOT alone. His eyes widened slightly at the sight of the giant lizard with exceedingly sharp teeth that was looking at him with glowing eyes. The thing's scales seemed to absorb light, though he noticed red highlights on the scales when the light hit them properly. The being was wearing some type of articulated armor, though he didn't recognize the metal. His analytical mind was also slightly annoyed at how his hind-brain seemed to want to curl up in a ball and hide at the sight. To his surprise, the lizard spoke in English.
"Good evening, Mr. Luthor. How are you feeling today?" said the lizard with a slight sibilance.
Feigning a nonchalance he was not really feeling, he answered, "I feel fine. I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage?"
That prompted a grin from the lizard that exposed more teeth than was comforting. "Forgive me. My name is Metis. To answer your next questions, you are located in a recovery room on the home world of an alien race known as the Nox. I am not one of them. My people simply refer to ourselves as the Family. You're recovering from the healing we provided you to cure your cancer, as well as some other issues. This world is in a different dimension than your own, and our intent is to return you home after we've had a chance to discuss some matters important to the safety of your Earth."
Lex considered his situation. The creature before him, Metis, looked to be larger than him, probably stronger, and definitely dangerous. He or she -- the mythological Metis was female, so he could assume female for now -- was also evidently sapient, and quite good at anticipating his obvious first questions. He was feeling quite good, but he wouldn't trust that his cancer was truly healed until he had a chance to scan himself with his own equipment. He also wasn't going to accept that he was actually on another planet without some additional proof. For all he knew, he could be in a warehouse in New Jersey. Telling him he was healed and would be returned home could simply be an attempt to get him to lower his guard. He sincerely doubted that whoever kidnapped him did so without an ulterior motive.
As if reading his mind, the lizard said, "Of course we have an ulterior motive. We wish to make a deal with you that would be mutually beneficial. We will give you access to some equipment that will provide some supporting evidence to my claims, although it won't be sufficient to satisfy you completely. Then we can proceed with the premise that we are being truthful. Once you're actually home and can verify things further, we can finalize our agreement, assuming you're amenable."
There was no harm in playing along for now. If they were really going to provide him with access to equipment, then that would be an advantage that he didn't currently have. Given how quickly Metis responded, he had to assume that she was possibly a telepath, so making long-term plans for escape wasn't likely to be useful. He would just have to improvise.
"It's not telepathy, just superior intuition," replied the lizard unprompted. "I will wait outside while you get dressed."
She proceeded to leave the room. Luthor found a white suit similar to his preferred style laid out for him, along with all of the necessary accessories and undergarments. It all fit him as if it were bespoke, but there were no manufacturer or designer labels on any of it. His silk pajamas were similarly unadorned with any identifying marks. Whoever crafted the clothing was every bit as skilled as his personal tailor. Once dressed to his satisfaction, he left the room to find a small waiting area. The only occupant was Metis, who appeared to simply be waiting patiently.
The lizard led Lex Luthor out through a door to the outside. That revealed that it was apparently night. The star field visible with the naked eye didn't correspond to any location on Earth, assuming it wasn't an illusion or hologram of some kind. She led him to another building that appeared to be crafted from natural, hand-shaped wood in an aesthetically pleasing fashion. Inside the building was a Lexcorp medical scanner, a scientific field scanner, and a portable telescope. It didn't take Lex long to verify that the equipment appeared to be unaltered, and that it confirmed he was cured, his dimensional signature was different than those of the surroundings (and, interestingly, that of Metis, which was ALSO different from that of their surroundings), and that the powerful telescope was capable of viewing a number of unfamiliar celestial bodies in this planet's system. The chance that this was some type of elaborate Potemkin village was now significantly less likely, though still not impossible. The fact that they had managed to kidnap him from his own bedroom showed a level of ability that meant he may very well benefit from listening to whatever offer they had to make to him.
Metis led him to yet a third building, which seemed to contain a simple conference room. It was obviously time for the pitch to begin.
"Mr. Luthor," began Metis, "as a matter of full disclosure, I want to let you know that in addition to your cancer, we corrected a few minor issues related to age, and a more serious issue. You've exposed yourself to a number of substances that were radioactive or mutagenic in your career, and it has had an impact on your mental health. You've been suffering from bouts of paranoia, and you've been showing increasingly manic tendencies over time."
"You've altered my brain chemistry?" he asked, now rather concerned.
Metis removed a small container from a compartment in her armor and handed it to him. "This is a single-use healing symbiote. It's what we used to heal you. It only corrects legitimate health issues. We'll provide you with samples when you leave so that you can verify that it only does what I've told you. Apart from that, could you think back to your actions over the last few years, and tell me your opinion of the thought processes leading to them?"
Lex considered the request, then decided to review his own behavior. What he saw was a somewhat disturbing pattern of overreaction, unnecessary risks and a disregard for consequences that was callous even by his admittedly atrophied sense of morality and ethics. If a subordinate had behaved in a similar fashion, he had to admit that he would be questioning their judgement and long-term fitness to lead. "I will, somewhat grudgingly, admit that there may be reason to suspect that my mental stability may have been compromised by my illness."
Seemingly satisfied by his response, Metis continued. "Are you familiar with the World as Myth theory of the multiverse?"
He raised an eyebrow. "You mean the concept that most fictional stories are actually views on actual alternate realities? That somewhere in the multiverse, for example, there is an actual land of Oz that was visited by Dorothy Gale of Kansas?"
Metis gave a more genuine smile than before. "I don't know about Oz, but I can prove that there are a plethora of stories about your universe and its parallels. In many of the stories, you are a villain, but in others you're a hero or a relatively neutral figure. You're almost always a successful business man and a genius scientist and inventor. My group was contacted recently by a group of interdimensional castaways, one of whom was a man by the name of James Olsen, a news reporter from your world."
Luthor grimaced. "We've met." It was a little surprising to hear that apparently Olsen wasn't being held captive by Darkseid. Luthor had seen reports on the battle where Olsen went missing recently, and it had seemed like he had been abducted by one of the paradaemons.
Metis acknowledged this with a nod. "That drew our attention to your universe, and our concern. There are some fundamental problems with the stability of your reality, Mr. Luthor. We are contacting a number of beings with a vested interest in your reality's continued health in an attempt to take corrective action. There is another issue, however, that needs addressing with regard to Earth."
Lex smirked. "Is this the part where you tell me that I need to stop interfering with the Justice League and its heroes?"
"No, actually," said Metis, to Luthor's slight surprise. "For the most part, we find your concerns about the members of the Justice League to be valid, if a bit too narrow in focus and slightly obsessive. We have a number of stories about alternates to your own world where various members of the League prove to actually be a grave threat. We are more concerned that Earth has suffered and may continue to suffer from alien invasions in the future, some of which may cause significant loss of life."
"You sound as if you have something specific in mind?" asked the genius.
Metis frowned. "In one set of stories, shortly after you're elected president, the United States suffers an invasion that leads to the destruction of Topeka, Kansas, which leads to hundreds of thousands of casualties. There are many other similar stories. Other than the Justice League, your world completely lacks any kind of planetary defense force, despite living in a galaxy filled with potentially hostile alien races."
"The presence of the League has, admittedly, led to a certain complacency about threats that would otherwise trigger a more active response," admitted Lex. "It's hard to justify spending billions on space-based weaponry when Superman can stop almost any threat, and the other nations would get antsy about that weaponry being turned against them." He had to admit that over the years, his fixation on Superman had started to border on self-destructive obsession. In a different way, the same could be said about the people of Earth in general.
"Superman and the other members of the League with access to advanced technology have avoided sharing much of it because they don't want people to be dependent upon them, but they fail to see the ways in which it could be empowering for humanity in general. They also don't see how dependence has grown regardless. You don't have any such concerns," said Metis. "We would like you to use your influence to fix that."
"What you're talking about is an expensive proposition, and it won't be universally popular for the reasons we've already discussed." Luthor had to admit he wasn't completely opposed to the idea, but there had to be more benefit to him, personally, before he would take the risk.
"We can assist with that...and there are going to be some other changes in your galaxy relatively soon," said Metis.
Intrigued, Lex said, "Tell me more..."
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
"From the mirror universe's perspective, contact with the Federation first happened in 2155 when the Constitution-class USS Defiant appeared in Tholian space. The mirror version of Jonathan Archer snuck into Tholian space and took possession of the Defiant, which had technology a century in advance of the Empire. That technological advantage led directly to Terran hegemony in the Alpha and Beta quadrants for the next two hundred years." Dragon was speaking over a monitor to the group seated around the conference table.
Miles and Keiko were sitting side-by-side, having left their two children in the care of Harry, Karrin, and Harry's daughters for a short time. Julian Bashir, Kira Nerys, and Saurial sat at the table next to them (although Saurial wasn't using a chair).
"Wait a minute," said Miles, "the Constitution class didn't come out until the 2240's."
"There was a time displacement involved in the spatial interphase created by the mirror Tholians," explained the woman on the monitor. "In addition to the advanced technology, the Terran Empire also gained early awareness of your universe, as well as information on its history for the next hundred years. They viewed the Federation as a threat and made plans for what to do in the event of further contact. That contact happened again in 2256 when Captain Gabriel Lorca of the ISS Buran was accidentally transported to your universe thanks to an ion storm and some other factors."
"The records say that our first contact with the mirror universe was in 2267. James Kirk and several members of his crew ended up on their ship's Terran Empire version thanks to a transporter accident," said Bashir. "We reviewed those records when we encountered our own counterparts." Julian's eidetic memory was proving useful.
"There are gaps in Starfleet's records," explained Saurial. "We believe that some of that is due to the fact that Starfleet, specifically Section 31, was conducting experiments in time travel through Project Daedalus. It was meant to help in the Federation-Klingon War."
"Starfleet was researching weaponized time travel over a hundred years ago?" exclaimed Kira.
Bashir shook his head. "Section 31 isn't part of the normal Starfleet hierarchy. Starfleet has had an organization attempting to prevent that type of time manipulation since the Temporal Cold War."
"Section 31 apparently believed that the Klingons were developing time travel technology, which prompted their experiments. Regardless, the experiments came to an end when the Section 31 base was wiped out by a rogue AI." Dragon winced almost imperceptibly, but only Saurial noticed. "There's evidence that Philippa Georgiou, who was working as a Section 31 agent in the 23rd century, gained access to that technology and used it to send several agents of Terran Intelligence into the past. Those agents used foreknowledge to influence the founding of Section 31."
"Captain Georgiou? Didn't she die at the Battle of the Binary Stars?" asked Bashir. "That precipitated the war with the Klingons."
Dragon nodded. "Your universe's Georgiou did die then. The one I'm referring to was the mirror universe version, who also happened to be the Empress of the Terran Empire."
"She was recruited by Section 31, probably due to plans set in place by the agents she later sent into the past. The whole incident appears to be a closed time loop," explained Saurial. "All of Section 31's actions appear to be in line with the goals of the mirror universe's Empire."
"What are those goals? Why suborn and then maintain an organization dedicated to the preservation of the Federation if the Federation is a threat?" asked Kira.
"Several reasons," explained Saurial. "First, Section 31 has access to the sum of knowledge available to Starfleet Intelligence, including things restricted to the Admiralty and need-to-know officers. Second, they've been able to play a careful balance of preserving the Federation, a largely human-led polity with known strengths and weaknesses, and keeping the Federation pacifist and non-expansionist. Lastly, there are plans in place to take over the Federation from the inside and make it a direct protectorate of the Empire. Those plans have been derailed by new threats encountered by Starfleet."
"The Borg and the Dominion," stated Bashir. "They had to ramp up both security and military production to counter those threats. Starfleet is a lot more cautious and militant now than they were just a decade ago."
"And we have reason to believe that both of those events were a direct result of Q," said Saurial. "He triggered an encounter with the Borg while they were still mostly restricted to the Delta Quadrant. Earth is a fairly long journey even for them. Similarly, the Dominion is the dominant power in the Gamma Quadrant, and they were largely restricted to acting through the bottleneck of the Bajoran Wormhole."
"Why does he care?" asked O'Brien. He was skeptical of Q's good nature.
"We believe that the coincidence of the mirror universe and yours is actually not one...a coincidence, that is," answered Saurial. "Some power has damaged the fabric of space-time in your universe deliberately, and that's had a number of effects. One is that it is ridiculously easy to access your closest alternate. Another is an insanely prevalent degree of time manipulation in your reality."
"We even suspect that the risk of damage to the fabric of space-time discovered by Serova of Hekara is a result of the fundamental instability present in your universe," added Dragon.
"Wait, warp drive can damage the fabric of the universe?" asked Kira. She was getting a little tired of shocking revelations.
Miles shook his head. "Speeds over Warp 5 can if the fields aren't calibrated carefully. It's not a problem anymore as long as you don't cause overlapping shock-waves in subspace."
"Except that it doesn't," said Saurial, "in any universe apart from yours. We checked the sensor readings from the Ship of Fools. Warp drive is perfectly safe in my own reality, as well as the others that you've visited."
"What is all this leading to?" asked Keiko. "Are you expecting the people in this room to help fix all of this?" She wasn't particularly keen on having her or Miles thrown back into the meat grinder of active combat duty when he was ready to settle on Earth.
Saurial smiled as kindly as possible (given the teeth). "We're simply informing you in the hope that you can facilitate introductions with some key individuals, including Captain Picard and Mister Data. There's also a specific thing that Colonel Kira can assist us with..."
Kira said, "And that would be?"
"The Family would like access to one of the Orbs of the Prophets," said Saurial seriously.
Saurial could tell that the request was unexpected if the expressions on the faces of everyone else in the room was any measure.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Bishop was checking email at his desk. As the new CEO of Dracotech Industries on Earth, there were plenty of things to keep him occupied. The "good" news for him was that it was fairly easy to introduce new, ground-breaking technologies to this world because Weyland-Yutani had laid the groundwork by releasing alien-inspired technology and then lobbying and bribing governments to avoid regulation. The bad news was that many government officials had some very distorted expectations of the relationship between public servants and corporations.
He automatically picked up the phone when it rang. "This is Draco." Bishop was using the alias, "Bishop Draco," and playing a role as the founder of Dracotech.
"Bishop, this is Dragon. Can you look at the properties we own on your world? I need a secure residence that's far enough out that people won't notice loud noises and bright lights, and enough space for half-a-dozen people."
Bishop put the phone between his shoulder and chin and went to bring up some property files. "How averse will we be to official scrutiny?"
"How well do you think the local authorities would react to the performance of real magic?" asked the draconian AI.
Bishop considered the likely reaction. "I would expect them to attempt to classify it as some type of alien ability and immediately move to contain it."
"Then it needs to be very private. Having a spot for firearms and martial arts training would also be a plus," said Dragon.
Bishop paged through options until he found one that seemed to fit. "One of the properties we acquired from Weyland-Yutani is a research facility used for dangerous alien technology set on a remote island on the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia. It's rather difficult to get to, but I don't think that will be a problem for you."
"No, I think that will be perfect," replied Dragon. "How long will it take to get ready?"
Bishop pulled up some additional details. "There's a skeleton crew maintaining the facilities, but the scientists were pulled out years ago after a rather substantive accident involving a plasma cannon. We can have some supplies and gear dropped in and then have them evacuate."
"I'll send you a list of things requested by Harry and his family. You can expect Harry, his two daughters, Karrin Murphy, and Stephen Strange, plus fairly regular guests," explained Dragon. "How are thing going otherwise?"
Bishop raised his eyebrow, wondering why she was asking. "I send you weekly status reports?"
Dragon laughed. "I know Bishop, but I'm looking for your impression beyond what's just in the reports.
Bishop considered what to say. "I take some personal satisfaction in picking apart the remains of Weyland-Yutani. We've acquired more than 64% of their total assets in the last three months, and some of them have additional evidence of malfeasance on the part of the owners and executives of the company. I've made sure to forward that information to the proper authorities whenever possible. I have to say the only frustrating thing about cleaning up after them is dealing with members of the government who were in WY's pocket. I'm planning to do some targeted political lobbying and campaign support to start trying to counteract some of that. Otherwise, we'll end up with a lot of officials up for sale to the highest bidder."
"Let me know if anybody seems exceedingly stubborn. We can always ask the Family to pay a visit to convince them," said Dragon.
"I'll keep that in mind," said Bishop with a smirk. "Other than that, I'm looking forward to our upcoming demo of the Goa'uld inspired hyperdrive, and we have a meeting with the FDA to demonstrate the one-shot healing symbiotes next month. I expect things are going to get very interesting around here."
"You don't expect anything that might interfere with Harry's sabbatical there?" asked Dragon, slightly concerned.
"No, they'll be quite isolated. In any event, it's going to be more interesting for members of the government and the captains of industry than for the common man, at least at first," he answered. "How are Ellen, Dwayne and Rebecca doing, if I may ask?"
"They're doing well," answered Dragon. "They seem to be forming a fairly stable family unit. I think Corporal Hicks still feels a small amount of survivor's guilt over his unit, but the Nox are helping all of them adjust. I'm not sure they'll ever be ready to go back to your reality, though."
Bishop thought about that. "I suppose that's to be expected. This universe hasn't exactly been kind to them...especially if you consider the stories they hadn't yet lived through." Dragon had shared the full set of stories about their universe after his loyalty had been freed. He was pleased that the third film never become actual reality.
"I'm very happy that you were willing to take your position, Bishop. It makes this much easier to have a native in the know to help run things," said Dragon.
"It's not a problem, Dragon. My purpose up until my resurrection by Bahamut was committed to serving Weyland-Yutani and the Colonial Marines. I feel that my role now is both more ethical and more productive for humanity as a whole. I'll have to see if I can get some time away to go visit with them. I only got a brief chance to talk before coming here."
"I'm sure they would like that. Let me know if you need any more information in order to get ready for our wizarding friends," said Dragon.
"I will. Now I think I should get back to work." At Dragon's acknowledgement, Bishop disconnected and went back to his email. There was a specific senator from Kentucky who couldn't seem to accept that Dracotech wouldn't be funding his campaign. He had, in the past, been key to blocking competitors from releasing new technology, but Bishop didn't think rewarding obstructionism and intransigence was in the best interest of humanity. It was strange that it took an AI to see that when humans seemed unable to do so.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
"So, Karrin, Maggie, Bonnie and I are going to go live in another dimension for a time while I study with Dr. Strange. Molly, the offer of tuition is open to you, too." Harry was sitting with Karrin, his daughters, his brother, Michael and Molly in one of the Nox's residential buildings set aside for human guests.
"You're offering to let me come study with the Sorcerer Supreme of Marvel Comics? Um, yes I'm coming. I'm your apprentice, after all." She seemed rather excited. In general, she was in a much better mood after a conversation with Harry and Karrin about what Harry had tried to do to resolve his commitment as the Winter Knight. Karrin was equally pissed at Harry and Kincaid, and more than annoyed with Molly, but she had grudgingly admitted that the circumstances at the time had seemed dire. It was still expected that Harry would have to do some groveling, of course.
"How long are you going to be gone?" asked Michael. The Knight of the Cross was looking much, much better after Family-style healing. The symbiote had fixed his spinal damage and replaced his kidney and his eye. His wife, Charity, would likely be unhappy that he intended to take up the sword Amoracchius again, but she would be happy to see him whole and healthy.
"From our perspective, it's likely to be months, but probably only hours or days back in our dimension," said Harry. "We're taking full advantage of the wormhole drive on the ship."
"I'll keep down the fort for what little time you're gone, then," said Thomas. A White Court vampire was a poor fit for an isolated compound of humans out in the middle of nowhere.
"Can you two check in on Billy and Georgia when you get back, please? The books suggest that they may run into the Fomor and need your help," said Dresden. Billy was the leader of the Alphas werewolf pack, and his wife Georgia was seven-month pregnant. Thomas and Michael agreed to check in with them.
"Uncle Thomas may be able to come visit," said Bonnie. "Metis thought she might have an idea that would mitigate your vampirism." Ianthe had examined Thomas, but she was reluctant to try and change an affliction that was entirely mystical in nature until they had a much better understanding of it.
"Do you know what it is?" asked Karrin.
Bonnie smiled smugly. "I have some strong suspicions, but I don't want to spoil the surprise."
"I hope she does. Not every member of the White Court is happy about our lifestyle, even if most of them hide it to avoid drawing attention," said Thomas grimly.
"Tío Thomas, eres mi vampiro favorito...my favorite vampire," said Maggie as she gave her uncle a warmly-received hug. He perked up a bit at that.
The group would leave in the morning after a good nights sleep, with Michael and Thomas heading back to their world. Harry, at least, was looking forward to it, though it was a toss-up whether the education or the time spent with his daughters would be more exciting.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Peter knocked on the door to the BBFO offices. Saurial had asked him and Taylor to come over this morning. The door opened and Saurial stuck her head out.
"Hey guys, come on in," said the lizard girl.
The two came into the office. "So, what did you want to show us, Saurial?" said Taylor. "By the way, I need you to come and talk to Dad with me. I explained some things to him, but there are other things he needs to know."
"Of course," said Saurial with a smile, "and I wanted to get you guys over here to revamp your costumes."
Peter looked confused. "Um, thanks for the thought, but I already have a professionally made costume."
Saurial gave him a smug grin. "Why don't you let me work something up for Taylor first, and then you can decide if you want something similar."
Peter shrugged and said, "OK." If nothing else, it would be interesting to see how Saurial put the costume together.
"All right!" started Saurial. "So, are you satisfied with the insect theme? Do you want something a little lighter?"
"Well...I like my costume, but it was definitely made with the materials I had -- spider silk and beetle chitin." Taylor had to admit that her costume was very dark, and tended to look more like a villain's costume.
"Hm...well, how about something like this?" A mannequin appeared to Taylor's basic size and shape. On it, a costume appeared that was slightly lighter in color. "I've replaced the silk and chitin with an EDM lining and an insulating material, similar to some costumes we put together for New Wave. The suit has a number of pockets that are all bigger on the inside, so you should be able to carry a good variety of gear, which we can also provide."
Taylor went over and felt the material of the suit. It felt slightly stiffer than the silk, but not to the point where it would be uncomfortable. "The darker color was useful for blending into my swarm, or for hiding in shadows," she said. "I'm also not sure how easy it's going to be getting to all of these pockets if I'm in the middle of a fight."
Saurial considered the costume for a moment. "All right, let's mix this up a bit." The costume disappeared, and then came back. This time, the pockets were gone and there was a thin utility belt. "The belt has a built in cloaking device, so you shouldn't have to worry about stealth. We can also see about putting an anti-gravity module into it. I'm not sure about making it fly, but we should at least be able to protect you from falling damage." There were also obvious pockets on the belt for gear, and they were undoubtedly larger on the inside.
"I like it, but what about the mask?" asked Taylor.
Saurial reached up and pressed a button on the belt. A blank mask extended up the sides of the mannequin's head and formed into a mask that covered the temples, eyes and nose in a way that would easily obscure identity. "The mask is inherent to the suit. A second button push will turn it into a fully-enclosed helmet that will provide more protection and has a built-in air supply."
Taylor looked impressed, but still said, "Could we make the mask look like my current one? Also, the helmet may be an issue, as I usually store part of my swarm in my hair." She ignored the slightly ill look on Peter's face at that statement.
Saurial nodded. "We can. We should probably work out a number of different designs, so you can vary the level of intimidation based on the circumstances. The plain mask is probably good for meeting with the public, for example. We can make the cloth change color and pattern, thanks to some technology from Miles' universe. You could then set it to dark colors if you somehow lost the cloaking device."
"I could actually setup multiple cape identities if we could make it flexible enough," thought Taylor out loud.
Saurial grinned. "Yep. Pretty easily, in fact. Now, as for your bug store, let's do this." The utility belt adjusted itself to have a flat box along the back with a long opening, large enough to allow insects of various types to pass through easily. "This storage compartment is much bigger on the inside. You could store quite a large volume of insects inside, enough for a full swarm. Can you send one of your insects inside?"
Taylor sent a house fly that had been sitting in her hair over to the box. Her eyes widened as the insect went inside and started exploring the environment. "Holy crap! How much space is in there? I could put enough bugs in here to cover all of Brockton Bay."
"I'll take that as a vote of approval. Can you think of anything else?" asked Saurial.
Taylor pondered the question. "I have some ideas for gear, but the suit is great. We can work out a gear load-out later, maybe even different load-outs for different circumstances."
"If necessary, although I think you'll be surprised how much can fit in one belt with multidimensional storage. So, Peter, are you interested in seeing what we can do with your costume?" asked Saurial.
He smiled. "Color me impressed. I think I would like to see what you can come up with for me. I also think we might need something for MJ, as well, based on a conversation we had with Ianthe earlier."
"Ianthe can give your wife powers?" asked Taylor, surprised despite her experience with the lizards so far.
"Apparently she can give her MY powers pretty easily," he said. "We could even pass it on to our kids."
Taylor laughed. "You can create your own race of spider people."
"I'm not really thinking that long term. Creating a new race seems like a lot of work," said Peter.
"You might be surprised," said Saurial, "but let's talk about what you want in a costume."
"Well," began Peter, "how much web fluid could you fit in a container about this size..."
"Knock knock," said Peter as he stuck his head through the doorway.
Ianthe looked up from the PHO page she was reading. "Peter! What can I do for you?"
Peter walked in with his wife, holding her hand. "We decided we would stop in and see about trying that symbiote you were talking about? Oh, this is my wife, MJ. MJ, this is Ianthe, Saurial's cousin."
MJ walked over and shook the large lizard's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, especially given how you helped out Peter and his friends."
Ianthe gave her a closed-mouth smile. "It's our pleasure. Working with your husband and his crew have been fascinating, to say the least. So, are you just here for the symbiote, or is there anything else I can do for you?"
MJ and Peter looked at each other. "What else can you do?" asked MJ.
"Oh, quite a lot," said the purple lizard. "Humans are fairly easy to modify. I can give you better senses, enhanced strength and reflexes -- even mimic some of the flashier superpowers, although some are more difficult than others. It's also harder if you want to maintain your current appearance."
"Could you give Peter actual, biological web shooters?" asked MJ with a smirk.
"I could, but he would probably have to consume a lot of calories to replace any web he used," answered Ianthe. "The mass has to come from somewhere on a daily basis. He also would have to decide if he wanted them in his wrists or in a more anatomically correct location."
MJ seemed surprised at the answer, but Peter swallowed nervously and said, "I think I'll just stick with the baseline symbiote. That just heals, right?"
Ianthe nodded. "It heals pretty much anything. As long as you avoid getting your head vaporized, you'll come back from pretty much any injury. If it can't heal you immediately, it will put you into a trance-like state until it can."
"Well," mused Peter, "I usually try to avoid getting my head vaporized anyway, so I think I can live with that. What do you need us to do?"
"Just wait here for a moment." Ianthe went through a door into another room, and came back containing two small cases. Inside each was a slightly pinkish, lozenge-shaped symbiote resting in a clear liquid. "Here, each of you take one of these and put it on any exposed skin, then press down on it until it squeaks."
"Like the one-shots?" asked Peter.
Ianthe just nodded. Peter took one of the cases and did as instructed. MJ watched and then repeated the process, putting the symbiote on her bare forearm below her sleeve.
"Now what?" asked Peter.
Ianthe smiled. "That's it. Here, you can try it out. Just give yourself a small cut somewhere." She handed him a small knife that she seemed to spontaneously generate from somewhere.
Peter examined the strange, chitinous material. He looked at MJ and shrugged. Then he placed the blade against his hand and pressed. He meant to make only a small cut, but the sharpness of the knife surprised him and he made a deeper, half-inch-long gash.
"Peter!" said MJ worriedly.
Peter dropped the knife and cradled his hand. MJ came to look as well. His mouth dropped open a bit as the wound began to visibly close and stop bleeding. "Huh," he said. "Will you look at that."
"Wow," said MJ, "that was like watching Wolverine."
Ianthe laughed. "If you'd like, I can go get Saurial or Raptaur and we can give you retractable claws made of EDM."
Peter chuckled. "I don't think I have enough body hair to pull that off."
"I can fix that, too," said Ianthe with a daring look.
"No, thank you, Ianthe," said MJ. "I like Peter just the way he is." She paused in thought for a moment, then reached down and picked up the knife. With a quick jab, she managed to put the tip of the knife through her palm. "Ouch. That still hurts quite a lot."
"MJ, what the hell was that?" Peter watched, concerned, as the wound in her palm quickly healed up. "Why would you stab yourself that way?"
MJ took a clean cloth from Ianthe and wiped the blood from her palm, handing the cloth and the knife back to the lizard after. She looked at Peter apologetically. "I'm sorry, Pete, but I wanted to do something a little more...impressive? You have a tendency to worry about me like I'm made of spun glass. I wasn't expecting it to hurt quite so much, though."
"Pain is a useful warning system," explained Ianthe. "Just because you can heal from anything doesn't mean you shouldn't try to remove yourself from painful situations."
Peter frowned. "Let's talk about what other types of enhancements you can do without changing her appearance."
"Really, Peter?" asked MJ with a slight tone of annoyance.
"MJ, while I love your confidence and inner strength, I'll feel a lot better if you can take care of yourself if one of my typical enemies were to come after you. I know you can handle yourself against regular humans, but super-villains are in a whole different category. Please consider the opportunity we have, here." The look he gave her was loving but also worried.
"You know," interrupted Ianthe, "I could just give her a copy of your powers?"
Peter's and MJ's heads both turned to look at her as they simultaneously said, "Really?"
"Absolutely. Your powers are based on physical changes to your genetics and body structure." Ianthe looked at MJ. "I could even set them up so they breed true in any children you would have."
The two humans stared at her, then turned and looked at each other. Both seemed unsure how to respond.
Finally, MJ turned back to Ianthe. "I don't know about our kids inheriting our powers, but tell me more..."
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Danny sat in the galley of the ship, trying to absorb what he had learned in the last day. First, the Endbringer sirens had gone off while he was heading to the hardware store. He had headed to the nearest shelter on autopilot, worrying the whole time about his daughter whom he hadn't seen since their last argument. The sirens had shut off after a fairly short period of time, which had the shelter inhabitants both relieved and curious. Danny had sat still, trying to figure out how to find Taylor, even as people started to filter out of the shelter.
Then, the strange lizard-girl, Saurial, had shown up and said she would bring him to Taylor. He had stepped outside the shelter with her, only to be teleported to a spaceship flying over Brockton Bay. Two men named Harry and Peter had met him and taken him to his daughter...who had powers, and was helping to direct the search and rescue work in Brockton Bay. She had paused to hug him, then gone back to helping coordinate things. He had sat and watched her talk on the radio with a look of concentration on her face. Peter had sat next to him and explained what she was doing...and that he, too, was a cape, but apparently from another dimension?
By the time things were complete and all the lizards were back on board (and there were apparently four giant lizards), Taylor was obviously exhausted. She had briefly apologized for their last argument, admitted she was a cape, admitted she was not just a cape but a villain, and then almost passed out and barely made it to bed. Peter had led him to a bed where he could rest, and he slept for maybe two hours before waking up with a nightmare. Now, he was sitting in the ship's galley, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.
"Hard to take in, isn't it?" said a voice from the doorway.
Danny looked up to see a younger version of himself standing in the door. He must have shown something disturbed in his face, because the man in the door said, "Hey, don't worry. There IS a rational explanation for everything. Here, have a beer." His doppleganger was carrying two bottles, which Danny hadn't noticed at first.
While Danny took one of the beers, opened it, and took a sip, his copy sat down across the table from him. "Here's the thing. I'm you, from another reality...and this is not like an Earth Aleph and Bet thing. I have my own Taylor, who also got powers...but very different powers."
"How did that happen?" he asked, not sure he wanted to know the answer.
His other self explained, "When capes go through a particularly traumatic event, what many of them refer to as, 'the worst day of their life,' they gain the powers they need to help them survive whatever crisis they're in. It's called a trigger event."
Danny looked up at the younger version of himself and asked, "It was the locker, wasn't it? That's when she gained powers?"
"Yeah," was the reply. "I'll be honest with you, you and I screwed up big time. After Annette died, we shut down and left Taylor to deal with things on her own. We left it to the Barnes to support her while she was mourning...and that only made things worse in the long run."
For the first time, Danny answered. "Worse how?"
His duplicate looked at him. "Emma went through a traumatic experience while Taylor was at camp and basically lost her mind. Emma met Shadow Stalker...Sophia Hess...who is a complete psychopath, at the wrong time. She and Emma joined together and made Taylor's life hell, and that culminated in the locker."
Danny's eyes grew hard and he looked at his double. "Are you telling me," he said quietly, "that Taylor's best friend, the girl who was like her sister, and the daughter of one of my oldest friends, and a member of the Wards, somebody who is supposed to be a hero, both tortured her to the point that it was the worst day of her life?" Danny tried to imagine a day worse than the day Taylor found out her mother died.
At his alternate's nod, Danny slammed his hand on the table and began to swear at length. He got up and began to pace back and forth, continuing an impressive tirade. The beer bottle bounced off the far wall, luckily not breaking. After a good five minutes, he sat back down again and put his face in his hands. After another couple of minutes, he asked, "So what do I do?"
"You do what we both should have done long before now. You support her and you be there for her and you listen to her. Your first inclination is going to be to push her into the Wards. I'll tell you right now, she's not going to agree to that and she had some very good reasons. Hess being a Ward is just one of them. There are some...concerns...that we have about the Protectorate and the PRT in your universe that need to be addressed," said his twin.
"We?" he asked, not sure to whom the other Danny was referring.
"The giant lizards are part of a group called the Family. They're closely affiliated with the DWU in my universe, for reasons that will become clear when Saurial and Taylor have a chance to sit down with us and explain some things. From a power standpoint, they could pretty easily take on the entire Triumvirate by themselves. Actually, the reason Leviathan left so quickly after the attack started is because the Endbringers are afraid of them." His doppelganger paused. "I guarantee you that they're not going to let the status quo stay as it is in your Brockton Bay."
"Your version of the DWU has its own cape team?" he asked, bewildered by the concept. "What about the gangs?" He couldn't imagine the ABB, the Empire, or the Merchants accepting a new hero team based in the Docks.
The other Danny actually chuckled. "Remember what I said about power levels? The Family beat Lung and Hookwolf easily, so E88 and the ABB have been lying low. When Skidmark was too stupid to take the hint, the lizards worked with the Protectorate and the PRT and took out the Merchants in a single night, and Coil soon after. Also, the Undersiders and Über and Leet have reformed and are now part of the DWU."
That was alarming. "You're building your own cape gang?"
That prompted a frown. "I know it might seem that way, but it isn't, really. The Family run a company called BBFO that's affiliated with the DWU. They only responded to the E88, Lung and the Merchants when they were attacked. The other minor villains reforming just kind of...happened? I know that sounds strange, but it really wasn't any kind of plot. The Family is now a PRT affiliate, like the Guild."
"Your world seems very different from mine," he said with a sigh.
His alternate self grinned. "It is, in a lot of good ways. The good news is that I expect things will improve relatively quickly in your world now that we're involved. Now come on, Taylor needs to rest, and I want to show you something."
Danny raised a questioning eyebrow.
"How would you like to see the bay without the old tanker blocking the channel?" his twin asked.
For the first time in what seemed like days, Danny gave a small smile. "I think I would like to see that very much."
The two fathers left together to look at what was hopefully a symbol of change for both of their realities.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Lex woke up to an unfamiliar ceiling. He immediately stopped moving and began to listen carefully for the sounds of others. It was shockingly silent. There was no background noise of any kind, and none of the sounds of breathing, subconscious weight shifting or idle movements that would indicate another person was present. He carefully tensed the muscle groups around his body, making sure he had sensation and control over everything. He couldn't feel any pain or disorientation. In fact, he felt quite good...better than he had in some time. The dull throb that was ever-present since he started his experimental cancer treatments was gone. Satisfied that he was uninjured, he turned his head to look around the room, and froze when he saw that he was NOT alone. His eyes widened slightly at the sight of the giant lizard with exceedingly sharp teeth that was looking at him with glowing eyes. The thing's scales seemed to absorb light, though he noticed red highlights on the scales when the light hit them properly. The being was wearing some type of articulated armor, though he didn't recognize the metal. His analytical mind was also slightly annoyed at how his hind-brain seemed to want to curl up in a ball and hide at the sight. To his surprise, the lizard spoke in English.
"Good evening, Mr. Luthor. How are you feeling today?" said the lizard with a slight sibilance.
Feigning a nonchalance he was not really feeling, he answered, "I feel fine. I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage?"
That prompted a grin from the lizard that exposed more teeth than was comforting. "Forgive me. My name is Metis. To answer your next questions, you are located in a recovery room on the home world of an alien race known as the Nox. I am not one of them. My people simply refer to ourselves as the Family. You're recovering from the healing we provided you to cure your cancer, as well as some other issues. This world is in a different dimension than your own, and our intent is to return you home after we've had a chance to discuss some matters important to the safety of your Earth."
Lex considered his situation. The creature before him, Metis, looked to be larger than him, probably stronger, and definitely dangerous. He or she -- the mythological Metis was female, so he could assume female for now -- was also evidently sapient, and quite good at anticipating his obvious first questions. He was feeling quite good, but he wouldn't trust that his cancer was truly healed until he had a chance to scan himself with his own equipment. He also wasn't going to accept that he was actually on another planet without some additional proof. For all he knew, he could be in a warehouse in New Jersey. Telling him he was healed and would be returned home could simply be an attempt to get him to lower his guard. He sincerely doubted that whoever kidnapped him did so without an ulterior motive.
As if reading his mind, the lizard said, "Of course we have an ulterior motive. We wish to make a deal with you that would be mutually beneficial. We will give you access to some equipment that will provide some supporting evidence to my claims, although it won't be sufficient to satisfy you completely. Then we can proceed with the premise that we are being truthful. Once you're actually home and can verify things further, we can finalize our agreement, assuming you're amenable."
There was no harm in playing along for now. If they were really going to provide him with access to equipment, then that would be an advantage that he didn't currently have. Given how quickly Metis responded, he had to assume that she was possibly a telepath, so making long-term plans for escape wasn't likely to be useful. He would just have to improvise.
"It's not telepathy, just superior intuition," replied the lizard unprompted. "I will wait outside while you get dressed."
She proceeded to leave the room. Luthor found a white suit similar to his preferred style laid out for him, along with all of the necessary accessories and undergarments. It all fit him as if it were bespoke, but there were no manufacturer or designer labels on any of it. His silk pajamas were similarly unadorned with any identifying marks. Whoever crafted the clothing was every bit as skilled as his personal tailor. Once dressed to his satisfaction, he left the room to find a small waiting area. The only occupant was Metis, who appeared to simply be waiting patiently.
The lizard led Lex Luthor out through a door to the outside. That revealed that it was apparently night. The star field visible with the naked eye didn't correspond to any location on Earth, assuming it wasn't an illusion or hologram of some kind. She led him to another building that appeared to be crafted from natural, hand-shaped wood in an aesthetically pleasing fashion. Inside the building was a Lexcorp medical scanner, a scientific field scanner, and a portable telescope. It didn't take Lex long to verify that the equipment appeared to be unaltered, and that it confirmed he was cured, his dimensional signature was different than those of the surroundings (and, interestingly, that of Metis, which was ALSO different from that of their surroundings), and that the powerful telescope was capable of viewing a number of unfamiliar celestial bodies in this planet's system. The chance that this was some type of elaborate Potemkin village was now significantly less likely, though still not impossible. The fact that they had managed to kidnap him from his own bedroom showed a level of ability that meant he may very well benefit from listening to whatever offer they had to make to him.
Metis led him to yet a third building, which seemed to contain a simple conference room. It was obviously time for the pitch to begin.
"Mr. Luthor," began Metis, "as a matter of full disclosure, I want to let you know that in addition to your cancer, we corrected a few minor issues related to age, and a more serious issue. You've exposed yourself to a number of substances that were radioactive or mutagenic in your career, and it has had an impact on your mental health. You've been suffering from bouts of paranoia, and you've been showing increasingly manic tendencies over time."
"You've altered my brain chemistry?" he asked, now rather concerned.
Metis removed a small container from a compartment in her armor and handed it to him. "This is a single-use healing symbiote. It's what we used to heal you. It only corrects legitimate health issues. We'll provide you with samples when you leave so that you can verify that it only does what I've told you. Apart from that, could you think back to your actions over the last few years, and tell me your opinion of the thought processes leading to them?"
Lex considered the request, then decided to review his own behavior. What he saw was a somewhat disturbing pattern of overreaction, unnecessary risks and a disregard for consequences that was callous even by his admittedly atrophied sense of morality and ethics. If a subordinate had behaved in a similar fashion, he had to admit that he would be questioning their judgement and long-term fitness to lead. "I will, somewhat grudgingly, admit that there may be reason to suspect that my mental stability may have been compromised by my illness."
Seemingly satisfied by his response, Metis continued. "Are you familiar with the World as Myth theory of the multiverse?"
He raised an eyebrow. "You mean the concept that most fictional stories are actually views on actual alternate realities? That somewhere in the multiverse, for example, there is an actual land of Oz that was visited by Dorothy Gale of Kansas?"
Metis gave a more genuine smile than before. "I don't know about Oz, but I can prove that there are a plethora of stories about your universe and its parallels. In many of the stories, you are a villain, but in others you're a hero or a relatively neutral figure. You're almost always a successful business man and a genius scientist and inventor. My group was contacted recently by a group of interdimensional castaways, one of whom was a man by the name of James Olsen, a news reporter from your world."
Luthor grimaced. "We've met." It was a little surprising to hear that apparently Olsen wasn't being held captive by Darkseid. Luthor had seen reports on the battle where Olsen went missing recently, and it had seemed like he had been abducted by one of the paradaemons.
Metis acknowledged this with a nod. "That drew our attention to your universe, and our concern. There are some fundamental problems with the stability of your reality, Mr. Luthor. We are contacting a number of beings with a vested interest in your reality's continued health in an attempt to take corrective action. There is another issue, however, that needs addressing with regard to Earth."
Lex smirked. "Is this the part where you tell me that I need to stop interfering with the Justice League and its heroes?"
"No, actually," said Metis, to Luthor's slight surprise. "For the most part, we find your concerns about the members of the Justice League to be valid, if a bit too narrow in focus and slightly obsessive. We have a number of stories about alternates to your own world where various members of the League prove to actually be a grave threat. We are more concerned that Earth has suffered and may continue to suffer from alien invasions in the future, some of which may cause significant loss of life."
"You sound as if you have something specific in mind?" asked the genius.
Metis frowned. "In one set of stories, shortly after you're elected president, the United States suffers an invasion that leads to the destruction of Topeka, Kansas, which leads to hundreds of thousands of casualties. There are many other similar stories. Other than the Justice League, your world completely lacks any kind of planetary defense force, despite living in a galaxy filled with potentially hostile alien races."
"The presence of the League has, admittedly, led to a certain complacency about threats that would otherwise trigger a more active response," admitted Lex. "It's hard to justify spending billions on space-based weaponry when Superman can stop almost any threat, and the other nations would get antsy about that weaponry being turned against them." He had to admit that over the years, his fixation on Superman had started to border on self-destructive obsession. In a different way, the same could be said about the people of Earth in general.
"Superman and the other members of the League with access to advanced technology have avoided sharing much of it because they don't want people to be dependent upon them, but they fail to see the ways in which it could be empowering for humanity in general. They also don't see how dependence has grown regardless. You don't have any such concerns," said Metis. "We would like you to use your influence to fix that."
"What you're talking about is an expensive proposition, and it won't be universally popular for the reasons we've already discussed." Luthor had to admit he wasn't completely opposed to the idea, but there had to be more benefit to him, personally, before he would take the risk.
"We can assist with that...and there are going to be some other changes in your galaxy relatively soon," said Metis.
Intrigued, Lex said, "Tell me more..."
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
"From the mirror universe's perspective, contact with the Federation first happened in 2155 when the Constitution-class USS Defiant appeared in Tholian space. The mirror version of Jonathan Archer snuck into Tholian space and took possession of the Defiant, which had technology a century in advance of the Empire. That technological advantage led directly to Terran hegemony in the Alpha and Beta quadrants for the next two hundred years." Dragon was speaking over a monitor to the group seated around the conference table.
Miles and Keiko were sitting side-by-side, having left their two children in the care of Harry, Karrin, and Harry's daughters for a short time. Julian Bashir, Kira Nerys, and Saurial sat at the table next to them (although Saurial wasn't using a chair).
"Wait a minute," said Miles, "the Constitution class didn't come out until the 2240's."
"There was a time displacement involved in the spatial interphase created by the mirror Tholians," explained the woman on the monitor. "In addition to the advanced technology, the Terran Empire also gained early awareness of your universe, as well as information on its history for the next hundred years. They viewed the Federation as a threat and made plans for what to do in the event of further contact. That contact happened again in 2256 when Captain Gabriel Lorca of the ISS Buran was accidentally transported to your universe thanks to an ion storm and some other factors."
"The records say that our first contact with the mirror universe was in 2267. James Kirk and several members of his crew ended up on their ship's Terran Empire version thanks to a transporter accident," said Bashir. "We reviewed those records when we encountered our own counterparts." Julian's eidetic memory was proving useful.
"There are gaps in Starfleet's records," explained Saurial. "We believe that some of that is due to the fact that Starfleet, specifically Section 31, was conducting experiments in time travel through Project Daedalus. It was meant to help in the Federation-Klingon War."
"Starfleet was researching weaponized time travel over a hundred years ago?" exclaimed Kira.
Bashir shook his head. "Section 31 isn't part of the normal Starfleet hierarchy. Starfleet has had an organization attempting to prevent that type of time manipulation since the Temporal Cold War."
"Section 31 apparently believed that the Klingons were developing time travel technology, which prompted their experiments. Regardless, the experiments came to an end when the Section 31 base was wiped out by a rogue AI." Dragon winced almost imperceptibly, but only Saurial noticed. "There's evidence that Philippa Georgiou, who was working as a Section 31 agent in the 23rd century, gained access to that technology and used it to send several agents of Terran Intelligence into the past. Those agents used foreknowledge to influence the founding of Section 31."
"Captain Georgiou? Didn't she die at the Battle of the Binary Stars?" asked Bashir. "That precipitated the war with the Klingons."
Dragon nodded. "Your universe's Georgiou did die then. The one I'm referring to was the mirror universe version, who also happened to be the Empress of the Terran Empire."
"She was recruited by Section 31, probably due to plans set in place by the agents she later sent into the past. The whole incident appears to be a closed time loop," explained Saurial. "All of Section 31's actions appear to be in line with the goals of the mirror universe's Empire."
"What are those goals? Why suborn and then maintain an organization dedicated to the preservation of the Federation if the Federation is a threat?" asked Kira.
"Several reasons," explained Saurial. "First, Section 31 has access to the sum of knowledge available to Starfleet Intelligence, including things restricted to the Admiralty and need-to-know officers. Second, they've been able to play a careful balance of preserving the Federation, a largely human-led polity with known strengths and weaknesses, and keeping the Federation pacifist and non-expansionist. Lastly, there are plans in place to take over the Federation from the inside and make it a direct protectorate of the Empire. Those plans have been derailed by new threats encountered by Starfleet."
"The Borg and the Dominion," stated Bashir. "They had to ramp up both security and military production to counter those threats. Starfleet is a lot more cautious and militant now than they were just a decade ago."
"And we have reason to believe that both of those events were a direct result of Q," said Saurial. "He triggered an encounter with the Borg while they were still mostly restricted to the Delta Quadrant. Earth is a fairly long journey even for them. Similarly, the Dominion is the dominant power in the Gamma Quadrant, and they were largely restricted to acting through the bottleneck of the Bajoran Wormhole."
"Why does he care?" asked O'Brien. He was skeptical of Q's good nature.
"We believe that the coincidence of the mirror universe and yours is actually not one...a coincidence, that is," answered Saurial. "Some power has damaged the fabric of space-time in your universe deliberately, and that's had a number of effects. One is that it is ridiculously easy to access your closest alternate. Another is an insanely prevalent degree of time manipulation in your reality."
"We even suspect that the risk of damage to the fabric of space-time discovered by Serova of Hekara is a result of the fundamental instability present in your universe," added Dragon.
"Wait, warp drive can damage the fabric of the universe?" asked Kira. She was getting a little tired of shocking revelations.
Miles shook his head. "Speeds over Warp 5 can if the fields aren't calibrated carefully. It's not a problem anymore as long as you don't cause overlapping shock-waves in subspace."
"Except that it doesn't," said Saurial, "in any universe apart from yours. We checked the sensor readings from the Ship of Fools. Warp drive is perfectly safe in my own reality, as well as the others that you've visited."
"What is all this leading to?" asked Keiko. "Are you expecting the people in this room to help fix all of this?" She wasn't particularly keen on having her or Miles thrown back into the meat grinder of active combat duty when he was ready to settle on Earth.
Saurial smiled as kindly as possible (given the teeth). "We're simply informing you in the hope that you can facilitate introductions with some key individuals, including Captain Picard and Mister Data. There's also a specific thing that Colonel Kira can assist us with..."
Kira said, "And that would be?"
"The Family would like access to one of the Orbs of the Prophets," said Saurial seriously.
Saurial could tell that the request was unexpected if the expressions on the faces of everyone else in the room was any measure.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Bishop was checking email at his desk. As the new CEO of Dracotech Industries on Earth, there were plenty of things to keep him occupied. The "good" news for him was that it was fairly easy to introduce new, ground-breaking technologies to this world because Weyland-Yutani had laid the groundwork by releasing alien-inspired technology and then lobbying and bribing governments to avoid regulation. The bad news was that many government officials had some very distorted expectations of the relationship between public servants and corporations.
He automatically picked up the phone when it rang. "This is Draco." Bishop was using the alias, "Bishop Draco," and playing a role as the founder of Dracotech.
"Bishop, this is Dragon. Can you look at the properties we own on your world? I need a secure residence that's far enough out that people won't notice loud noises and bright lights, and enough space for half-a-dozen people."
Bishop put the phone between his shoulder and chin and went to bring up some property files. "How averse will we be to official scrutiny?"
"How well do you think the local authorities would react to the performance of real magic?" asked the draconian AI.
Bishop considered the likely reaction. "I would expect them to attempt to classify it as some type of alien ability and immediately move to contain it."
"Then it needs to be very private. Having a spot for firearms and martial arts training would also be a plus," said Dragon.
Bishop paged through options until he found one that seemed to fit. "One of the properties we acquired from Weyland-Yutani is a research facility used for dangerous alien technology set on a remote island on the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia. It's rather difficult to get to, but I don't think that will be a problem for you."
"No, I think that will be perfect," replied Dragon. "How long will it take to get ready?"
Bishop pulled up some additional details. "There's a skeleton crew maintaining the facilities, but the scientists were pulled out years ago after a rather substantive accident involving a plasma cannon. We can have some supplies and gear dropped in and then have them evacuate."
"I'll send you a list of things requested by Harry and his family. You can expect Harry, his two daughters, Karrin Murphy, and Stephen Strange, plus fairly regular guests," explained Dragon. "How are thing going otherwise?"
Bishop raised his eyebrow, wondering why she was asking. "I send you weekly status reports?"
Dragon laughed. "I know Bishop, but I'm looking for your impression beyond what's just in the reports.
Bishop considered what to say. "I take some personal satisfaction in picking apart the remains of Weyland-Yutani. We've acquired more than 64% of their total assets in the last three months, and some of them have additional evidence of malfeasance on the part of the owners and executives of the company. I've made sure to forward that information to the proper authorities whenever possible. I have to say the only frustrating thing about cleaning up after them is dealing with members of the government who were in WY's pocket. I'm planning to do some targeted political lobbying and campaign support to start trying to counteract some of that. Otherwise, we'll end up with a lot of officials up for sale to the highest bidder."
"Let me know if anybody seems exceedingly stubborn. We can always ask the Family to pay a visit to convince them," said Dragon.
"I'll keep that in mind," said Bishop with a smirk. "Other than that, I'm looking forward to our upcoming demo of the Goa'uld inspired hyperdrive, and we have a meeting with the FDA to demonstrate the one-shot healing symbiotes next month. I expect things are going to get very interesting around here."
"You don't expect anything that might interfere with Harry's sabbatical there?" asked Dragon, slightly concerned.
"No, they'll be quite isolated. In any event, it's going to be more interesting for members of the government and the captains of industry than for the common man, at least at first," he answered. "How are Ellen, Dwayne and Rebecca doing, if I may ask?"
"They're doing well," answered Dragon. "They seem to be forming a fairly stable family unit. I think Corporal Hicks still feels a small amount of survivor's guilt over his unit, but the Nox are helping all of them adjust. I'm not sure they'll ever be ready to go back to your reality, though."
Bishop thought about that. "I suppose that's to be expected. This universe hasn't exactly been kind to them...especially if you consider the stories they hadn't yet lived through." Dragon had shared the full set of stories about their universe after his loyalty had been freed. He was pleased that the third film never become actual reality.
"I'm very happy that you were willing to take your position, Bishop. It makes this much easier to have a native in the know to help run things," said Dragon.
"It's not a problem, Dragon. My purpose up until my resurrection by Bahamut was committed to serving Weyland-Yutani and the Colonial Marines. I feel that my role now is both more ethical and more productive for humanity as a whole. I'll have to see if I can get some time away to go visit with them. I only got a brief chance to talk before coming here."
"I'm sure they would like that. Let me know if you need any more information in order to get ready for our wizarding friends," said Dragon.
"I will. Now I think I should get back to work." At Dragon's acknowledgement, Bishop disconnected and went back to his email. There was a specific senator from Kentucky who couldn't seem to accept that Dracotech wouldn't be funding his campaign. He had, in the past, been key to blocking competitors from releasing new technology, but Bishop didn't think rewarding obstructionism and intransigence was in the best interest of humanity. It was strange that it took an AI to see that when humans seemed unable to do so.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
"So, Karrin, Maggie, Bonnie and I are going to go live in another dimension for a time while I study with Dr. Strange. Molly, the offer of tuition is open to you, too." Harry was sitting with Karrin, his daughters, his brother, Michael and Molly in one of the Nox's residential buildings set aside for human guests.
"You're offering to let me come study with the Sorcerer Supreme of Marvel Comics? Um, yes I'm coming. I'm your apprentice, after all." She seemed rather excited. In general, she was in a much better mood after a conversation with Harry and Karrin about what Harry had tried to do to resolve his commitment as the Winter Knight. Karrin was equally pissed at Harry and Kincaid, and more than annoyed with Molly, but she had grudgingly admitted that the circumstances at the time had seemed dire. It was still expected that Harry would have to do some groveling, of course.
"How long are you going to be gone?" asked Michael. The Knight of the Cross was looking much, much better after Family-style healing. The symbiote had fixed his spinal damage and replaced his kidney and his eye. His wife, Charity, would likely be unhappy that he intended to take up the sword Amoracchius again, but she would be happy to see him whole and healthy.
"From our perspective, it's likely to be months, but probably only hours or days back in our dimension," said Harry. "We're taking full advantage of the wormhole drive on the ship."
"I'll keep down the fort for what little time you're gone, then," said Thomas. A White Court vampire was a poor fit for an isolated compound of humans out in the middle of nowhere.
"Can you two check in on Billy and Georgia when you get back, please? The books suggest that they may run into the Fomor and need your help," said Dresden. Billy was the leader of the Alphas werewolf pack, and his wife Georgia was seven-month pregnant. Thomas and Michael agreed to check in with them.
"Uncle Thomas may be able to come visit," said Bonnie. "Metis thought she might have an idea that would mitigate your vampirism." Ianthe had examined Thomas, but she was reluctant to try and change an affliction that was entirely mystical in nature until they had a much better understanding of it.
"Do you know what it is?" asked Karrin.
Bonnie smiled smugly. "I have some strong suspicions, but I don't want to spoil the surprise."
"I hope she does. Not every member of the White Court is happy about our lifestyle, even if most of them hide it to avoid drawing attention," said Thomas grimly.
"Tío Thomas, eres mi vampiro favorito...my favorite vampire," said Maggie as she gave her uncle a warmly-received hug. He perked up a bit at that.
The group would leave in the morning after a good nights sleep, with Michael and Thomas heading back to their world. Harry, at least, was looking forward to it, though it was a toss-up whether the education or the time spent with his daughters would be more exciting.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Peter knocked on the door to the BBFO offices. Saurial had asked him and Taylor to come over this morning. The door opened and Saurial stuck her head out.
"Hey guys, come on in," said the lizard girl.
The two came into the office. "So, what did you want to show us, Saurial?" said Taylor. "By the way, I need you to come and talk to Dad with me. I explained some things to him, but there are other things he needs to know."
"Of course," said Saurial with a smile, "and I wanted to get you guys over here to revamp your costumes."
Peter looked confused. "Um, thanks for the thought, but I already have a professionally made costume."
Saurial gave him a smug grin. "Why don't you let me work something up for Taylor first, and then you can decide if you want something similar."
Peter shrugged and said, "OK." If nothing else, it would be interesting to see how Saurial put the costume together.
"All right!" started Saurial. "So, are you satisfied with the insect theme? Do you want something a little lighter?"
"Well...I like my costume, but it was definitely made with the materials I had -- spider silk and beetle chitin." Taylor had to admit that her costume was very dark, and tended to look more like a villain's costume.
"Hm...well, how about something like this?" A mannequin appeared to Taylor's basic size and shape. On it, a costume appeared that was slightly lighter in color. "I've replaced the silk and chitin with an EDM lining and an insulating material, similar to some costumes we put together for New Wave. The suit has a number of pockets that are all bigger on the inside, so you should be able to carry a good variety of gear, which we can also provide."
Taylor went over and felt the material of the suit. It felt slightly stiffer than the silk, but not to the point where it would be uncomfortable. "The darker color was useful for blending into my swarm, or for hiding in shadows," she said. "I'm also not sure how easy it's going to be getting to all of these pockets if I'm in the middle of a fight."
Saurial considered the costume for a moment. "All right, let's mix this up a bit." The costume disappeared, and then came back. This time, the pockets were gone and there was a thin utility belt. "The belt has a built in cloaking device, so you shouldn't have to worry about stealth. We can also see about putting an anti-gravity module into it. I'm not sure about making it fly, but we should at least be able to protect you from falling damage." There were also obvious pockets on the belt for gear, and they were undoubtedly larger on the inside.
"I like it, but what about the mask?" asked Taylor.
Saurial reached up and pressed a button on the belt. A blank mask extended up the sides of the mannequin's head and formed into a mask that covered the temples, eyes and nose in a way that would easily obscure identity. "The mask is inherent to the suit. A second button push will turn it into a fully-enclosed helmet that will provide more protection and has a built-in air supply."
Taylor looked impressed, but still said, "Could we make the mask look like my current one? Also, the helmet may be an issue, as I usually store part of my swarm in my hair." She ignored the slightly ill look on Peter's face at that statement.
Saurial nodded. "We can. We should probably work out a number of different designs, so you can vary the level of intimidation based on the circumstances. The plain mask is probably good for meeting with the public, for example. We can make the cloth change color and pattern, thanks to some technology from Miles' universe. You could then set it to dark colors if you somehow lost the cloaking device."
"I could actually setup multiple cape identities if we could make it flexible enough," thought Taylor out loud.
Saurial grinned. "Yep. Pretty easily, in fact. Now, as for your bug store, let's do this." The utility belt adjusted itself to have a flat box along the back with a long opening, large enough to allow insects of various types to pass through easily. "This storage compartment is much bigger on the inside. You could store quite a large volume of insects inside, enough for a full swarm. Can you send one of your insects inside?"
Taylor sent a house fly that had been sitting in her hair over to the box. Her eyes widened as the insect went inside and started exploring the environment. "Holy crap! How much space is in there? I could put enough bugs in here to cover all of Brockton Bay."
"I'll take that as a vote of approval. Can you think of anything else?" asked Saurial.
Taylor pondered the question. "I have some ideas for gear, but the suit is great. We can work out a gear load-out later, maybe even different load-outs for different circumstances."
"If necessary, although I think you'll be surprised how much can fit in one belt with multidimensional storage. So, Peter, are you interested in seeing what we can do with your costume?" asked Saurial.
He smiled. "Color me impressed. I think I would like to see what you can come up with for me. I also think we might need something for MJ, as well, based on a conversation we had with Ianthe earlier."
"Ianthe can give your wife powers?" asked Taylor, surprised despite her experience with the lizards so far.
"Apparently she can give her MY powers pretty easily," he said. "We could even pass it on to our kids."
Taylor laughed. "You can create your own race of spider people."
"I'm not really thinking that long term. Creating a new race seems like a lot of work," said Peter.
"You might be surprised," said Saurial, "but let's talk about what you want in a costume."
"Well," began Peter, "how much web fluid could you fit in a container about this size..."
Last edited:
nullptr
Mostly Harmless
- Location
- The 906
Saurial glanced at the container and nodded, "Yes"
"Yes?", he looked confused, not parsing a valid response from the single word.
Saurial grinned, "All of it, I suspect"
"Oh."
- Location
- Cardiff
- Pronouns
- She/Her
well if anyone would know ...
Jonn Wolfe
(Verified Sarcastic) (Not a Wolf)
- Location
- Beyond Sanity Since 1971
How much you wanna bet Bug!Taylor will get Peter's powerset on top of hers?
He really does have one of the most useful generalist power sets. Boost to all physical stats with a focus on agility and strength, and an insanely handy danger sense. Most people might not find as much use in the wall crawling but it doesn't hurt.How much you wanna bet Bug!Taylor will get Peter's powerset on top of hers?
I always believed that Q in some strange way is fond of humanity, I don't want to say likes because he isn't a human or mortal. But him sending the Enterprise to the Q ensures that that hippy drippy 'we don't eat meat, we don't interfere (bullshit) with other races or we're not warlike.
They also didn't have dedicated protection for any of the planets and colonis nor a police force to handle smugglers, or Harry Mudd type criminals. Star Fleet has always been a seething mass of hypocrisy.
And MJ you need every upgrade you can get, make sure your kids never have any diseases.
Weyland-Yutani needs to be exposed and every death they caused as well as sending colonists to a infected world to settle.
I noticed the Family didn't go to the Resident Evil universe, considering the entire planet is practically destroyed by bio infections. I would have gone for the bio web spinners which should have been in the original canon but the web cartridges were supposed to show how smart he was, and then they never did anything with him being a genius. And he was always running out at the wrong time.
Great update.
The family should put all of Weyland-Yutani's and Umbrealla's board members together on a empty planetoid and then blow it up.
Damnit Taylor who doesn't want bottomless pockets in their costume? Hell bottomless bags would be a windfall for the military and hikers or just plain emergency survival rations and meds!
They also didn't have dedicated protection for any of the planets and colonis nor a police force to handle smugglers, or Harry Mudd type criminals. Star Fleet has always been a seething mass of hypocrisy.
And MJ you need every upgrade you can get, make sure your kids never have any diseases.
Weyland-Yutani needs to be exposed and every death they caused as well as sending colonists to a infected world to settle.
I noticed the Family didn't go to the Resident Evil universe, considering the entire planet is practically destroyed by bio infections. I would have gone for the bio web spinners which should have been in the original canon but the web cartridges were supposed to show how smart he was, and then they never did anything with him being a genius. And he was always running out at the wrong time.
Great update.
The family should put all of Weyland-Yutani's and Umbrealla's board members together on a empty planetoid and then blow it up.
Damnit Taylor who doesn't want bottomless pockets in their costume? Hell bottomless bags would be a windfall for the military and hikers or just plain emergency survival rations and meds!
- Location
- Maryland, USA
Thank you for the new chapter. Most interesting seeing how The Family are trying to resolve issues. I never would have envisioned Lex Luthor as a possible force for good change.
A few potential mistakes I found:
"putting the symbiote on her bare forearm below her sleave" =>
"putting the symbiote on her bare forearm below her sleeve"
"watched her sit on the radio" =>
"watched her sit at the radio"
"said the lizard with a slight silibance" =>
"said the lizard with a slight sibilance"
"something specific in mind?" asked" =>
"something specific in mind," said"
"led directly to Terran hegemony" =>
"led directly to the Terran hegemony"
"There's evidence that Phlippa" =>
"There's evidence that Philippa"
"able to carry good variety" =>
"able to carry a good variety"
A few potential mistakes I found:
"putting the symbiote on her bare forearm below her sleave" =>
"putting the symbiote on her bare forearm below her sleeve"
"watched her sit on the radio" =>
"watched her sit at the radio"
"said the lizard with a slight silibance" =>
"said the lizard with a slight sibilance"
"something specific in mind?" asked" =>
"something specific in mind," said"
"led directly to Terran hegemony" =>
"led directly to the Terran hegemony"
"There's evidence that Phlippa" =>
"There's evidence that Philippa"
"able to carry good variety" =>
"able to carry a good variety"
I almost died - that was great.
Jonn Wolfe
(Verified Sarcastic) (Not a Wolf)
- Location
- Beyond Sanity Since 1971
As far as Q goes, I think he's actually Wesley all grown up. He did separate himself from the timeline all on his own, then left to pursue further studies with The Traveler. Then much later, he does his stint to educate his father figure by launching the Enterprise at the Borg.
*Dons Asbestos Suit*
*Dons Asbestos Suit*
Last edited:
- Location
- The general area. Possibly behind you.
Luthor in at least some of the comic versions is someone who with slightly different motives could be a very effective force for good. The Superman V Batman DCU movie one is a raving nutcase, but in print he's often not that far gone. He is also absolutely brilliant, and highly driven to succeed. So yes, I could easily see fixing his more annoying mental issues leaving behind someone who you'd want working for you.
JimmXinu
(Verified Unverified)
- Location
- The Last Place You Look
Is this a reference to Wolverine's World maybe?
Which I highly recommend, BTW. Although the Spiderfolk centered parts don't come until later in the story.
I could see that happening.
- Location
- Maryland
No, I meant MJ was carrying around a skein of thread! Who am I kidding -- I fixed it. Thanks.
Poorly worded, but I changed to, "watched her TALK on the radio," as she most likely is using a Star Trek comm-badge rather than a device you would sit at.
Fixed. Thanks.
This one isn't an error. It's perfectly fine to put a question mark at the end of a statement that is meant as a request for confirmation. Verbally, the pitch of the sentence would rise at the end of the sentence.
This is also OK as read. Just replace "hegemony" with "dominance," which is a synonym, and see how it reads.